Happiness that you can get for free or won't be affected by the raising cost of living

[SophieHasOneQuestion]

Unfortunately, it seems everyone is cutting back, myself included. Let's share things that give you happiness and satisfaction for free (or almost free). So life can still be fun and worth living in these difficult times.

I go to a weekend philosophy club (held in a park), which is free, it gives me intellectual stimulation and makes me happy.

I volunteer as a leader at a local Brownies group which is just so rewarding

Scrapbooking
Decluttering
Cleaning
Baking brownies to share with visitors
Library - here you can use resources to research your family tree for free

Volunteering

Nature. Walking. The sea and beach. Reading. Music. Exercise. A sport I Iove. Most things I enjoy are already free or very cheap.

I'm loving all the daffs starting to appear in the park. Spring is coming!

Long walk with the buggy (and LO obviously) listening to a podcast - I don't live near anything too pleasant but I do love looking at people's houses and critiquing their choices in my head.

Yoga with Adrienne

Library for books for me & the kids

I volunteer once a week and I love it - completely different to my day job and home life.

Lighting a lovely candle - not free obviously but I tend to get them for Christmas/birthday and eek them out over the year.

Jigsaws, I find doing them really relaxing
Yoga on YouTube
Audiobooks while walking the dogs or cleaning turns chore into pleasure
Bike ride along the canal towpath
Visiting elderly parents, within walking distance for me

Great thread

Floating down the river on the current. Embracing the cold water and seeing all the signs of spring around me.

Lifting weights, our home set up has more than paid for itself in saved gym fees.

Singing (choir subs the only cost) and listening to music generally. Swimming in the sea. Those are the top ones. Walking somewhere pretty, preferably with a friend or two for a natter.

@mum2jakie

Sex!

I was going to write this

What a lovely thread OP

Not free but I love lighting my candles on an evening and turning the lamps on. I just love that cosy feeling.

Free -

sunrises and sunsets.
Meditation
When my teen dc come into my bedroom at night and chat to me before I go to sleep.
Listening to my favourite songs and dancing around my living room.
Youtube karaoke with friends.

I would also say walking and bike rides but as its been said they're not free I realised that they're not.

Oo I love swimming in the sea!

What a lovely thread!

Sunsets, the Moon, walking in the countryside or a park, the sea, sunbathing, sunshine, having a good laugh, animals, a bunch of flowers, dancing, a furry hot water bottle on a cold night, a crackling real fire, wine, creating something, planning a holiday, singing, having a gossip with an old friend, painting your nails…

And sunbathing in the garden!

I’ve just had a bath and removed all the hard skin from my feet. Now getting into bed with the loveliest, soft feet feels so luxurious. I’m not good at self care but occasionally a little goes a long way.

Massage with a significant other
Writing poetry
Foraging
Visible mending of clothes
Keeping a gratitude journal

Sat in the garden with a cup of tea earlier and my guinea pig in his run and my dog. The birds were singing and the sun was shining. I felt very grateful

Great thread!

Reading, listening to my cat purr when he's curled up at the end of my bed at night, dozing on a warm afternoon in the garden, taking a flask of coffee to a nearby nature reserve and doing a spot of bird watching, painting (not totally free, but I go to an art group run by MIND and it only costs £3 a week), looking for the first wild violets of Spring, Radio 4, spending time with friends or my brothers.

Radio 3. Late Junction, the Verb. I love listening to my favourite shows broadcast live, in the bath or cozied up in bed.
Learning- poems, books, science and art TV docs.
Dancing around the kitchen to Magic Radio.
Meditation.
Tea at just the right strength and temp.

A walk around my village at evening time - 'my village' isn't even particularly lovely, but just looking at the trees, the sunset, a glance of people's cosy kitchens as you pass

Music - in lockdown we did free online ukulele classes so we can now play for fun (lots of free sheet music downloads available) - ukulele not free but basic model £10

• or a recorder, likewise, basic model under £10 - honestly, music, either solo or in groups of whichever of the family you can grab, is our greatest pleasure and we are all bar one self-taught (ie very very amateur)

Reading

• or write fanfic in whatever genre grabbed you, carry on the story you loved! - upload for free to various places and read other people's

Knitting - first thing I ever knitted, with needles from a charity shop and cheap wool, was a phone case which was actually useful, and a hat is pretty easy/cheap too

Painting (we have absolutely no talent in our house, but a cheap pad of paper and some paints, and we can amuse ourselves for ages)

Growing things - I bought a £1.99 packet of Sungold tomatoes last year - reaped more delicious tomatoes than I could use, with only a little work to get them started

feeding the birds - hang a cheap feeder or set a table and a bird bath and just stand by the window for a while

What a positive thread OP, thanks.
For me it's long, walks in the mountains where I live - seeing the seasons change and new flowers emerge.

definitely enjoying nature. Love nice long dog walks in the spring.
Also my garden. I love gardening. I'm starting lots of things from seed this year, so very cheap. Growing some salad and veg too which I enjoy doing , and will save a bit. I had loads of tomatoes last year right from July to about October!
watching the birds bathing in my pond or on my nird feeder.
watching the frogspawn on my pond , hoping it will survive and develop into tadpoles
witing and drawing in my bullet journal
reading - not totally free but I buy kindle books when on a deal, or charity shop for "real" books
Just appreciating the lengthening days. I love the nice light long evenings of summer

Heygo. A free to join site where you can join live streamed virtual tours all around the world for free, although you can tip guides to show your appreciation if you are able to. This site has made such a difference to my life since I discovered it.

@Babamamananarama

My dog. I've made the argument to my other half that dog food is way cheaper than heating our house currently, so we should maybe just get loads more dogs and sit in a pile of them to keep warm. He's not going for it.

Mine are divided up and sleep on different beds at night - heating is off and they snuggle up with a child each or me 😂then in the morning they all pile in for a cuddle - but absolutely the case!

@vampirewellness

Yoga. Kindle unlimited. Rubbing my cats belly for a purr. The starlings in my garden that go from scrawny babies to big fat chirpy birds. Home made pizza dough - costs fuck all.

Highlight of my week was seeing 2 herons flying together on the local fen!

Would have said petting cats to induce purrs too but the belly is called 'the honey trap' over here: she tempts you with it, but if you touch you get the claw! Also

• Reading (you can get a lot of out of copyright books free for Kindle now)

• Walking to the sea
• Messaging a friend something funny or interesting
• Feeding the little birds

I guess none of those are absolutely free, but...is anything?

I volunteer at the local dog shelter, an hour or so walking the dogs on a weekend

Walking my own dogs

Spending time gardening

Reading

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